Promotional banner for a Platform Cooperativism Consortium event dated May 11, 2026. The background shows a busy urban street scene with a yellow double-decker bus and a city bus in traffic, suggesting public infrastructure and everyday mobility. Overlaid in large bold white text is the title: “When the State Goes Digital: Public Platforms, Cooperative Hybrids, and the Politics of Infrastructure.” The Consortium’s logo appears in the top left corner.
5:27 pm on April 27, 2026 · 2026 (252), infrastructure (21), platform coop (9)

RECORDING REQUESTED – 11 MAY 2026 – PCC – When the State Goes Digital: Public Platforms, Cooperative Hybrids, and the Politics of Infrastructure

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Promotional banner for a Platform Cooperativism Consortium event dated May 11, 2026. The background shows a busy urban street scene with a yellow double-decker bus and a city bus in traffic, suggesting public infrastructure and everyday mobility. Overlaid in large bold white text is the title: “When the State Goes Digital: Public Platforms, Cooperative Hybrids, and the Politics of Infrastructure.” The Consortium’s logo appears in the top left corner. RECORDING REQUESTED | PERMALINK

On 11 May 2026, at 09:00 EDT (05:00 UTC) the Platform Cooperativism Consortium (PCC)  hosted a webinar ‘When the State Goes Digital: Public Platforms, Cooperative Hybrids, and the Politics of Infrastructure‘.

Across Brazil, South Korea, and Kerala (India), governments have stepped into digital markets to confront platform monopolies, reduce labor precarity, and prevent the loss of local economic value. These interventions have taken many forms: state-owned apps, public–cooperative hybrids, and efforts to formalize digital solidarity economies. While often launched with strong public-facing missions such as lower fees and better working conditions, many of these initiatives have struggled to achieve viability in markets shaped by network effects, rapid iteration cycles, and dependence on private cloud and payment systems.

This event examined a central policy question: under what institutional conditions can public or cooperative digital platforms achieve both economic durability and democratic governance?

SPEAKERS

Jeongone (Joh) Seo – Korea National Open University
Kenzo Soares Seto – Yale University
Trebor Scholz – The New School / Harvard University
Ganesh Gopal – Gandhigram Rural Institute

 

#PlatformCoop #DigitalPlatforms #PublicInfrastructure #CooperativeEconomy #PlatformGovernance